Tulie coach, teacher arrested Friday

McKinsey charged with having sex with high school student

A 39-year-old Tularosa Middle School mathematics teacher and high school assistant football coach was charged Friday with 15 counts of criminal sexual penetration of a 15-year-old girl.

William P. McKinsey was arraigned on the charges in Otero County Magistrate Court, then released on a $150,000 bail bond from the Otero County Detention Center.

McKinsey was released after his attorney Gary Mitchell asked the court to conduct a hearing on conditions of release for his client Friday.

Mitchell said he understands the difficulty his client's case causes in the community.

"I would recommend my client send a letter of resignation to school officials," Mitchell said. "My client would waive his right to extradition. I assure the court my client's father is more than happy to take custody of his son at the family home in West Virginia."

He said McKinsey's father is an FBI agent in the NCIC and fingerprint bureau in West Virginia and his mother is a school teacher.

"I have his wife and kids ready to move with McKinsey to his father's home in West Virginia," Mitchell said. "I will pick him up from the detention center myself and drive him to his family waiting to leave for West Virginia."

Judge Gene Galassini, from the bench, said he would allow McKinsey to post 10 percent of the $150,000, or $15,000, on McKinsey's bail bond, but would impose conditions of release if the victim's family agreed with the arrangement.

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Twelfth Judicial District Attorney Diana Martwick said she had the victim's family members in the courtroom and would consult with them on the conditions of release.

"I would point out to the court that we started this investigation on Jan. 13," Martwick said. "We have no idea if there are any other victims. The incidents took place on middle school property."

Galassini, Mitchell and Martwick, along with the victim's family, all agreed to conditions of release for McKinsey.

McKinsey was to be released to Mitchell, then transported to his family waiting for him at a location northeast of Tularosa and immediately leave New Mexico for his father's home in West Virginia.

Galassini said McKinsey is ordered to have no contact with the victim or the victim's family, waive his right to extradition to New Mexico, must notify his attorney and the District Attorney's office when he comes back to Otero County and provide an itinerary at least 10 days in advance.

Galassini also ordered McKinsey to have no contact with children under the age of 18 and to stay 50 yards away from a school.

He said if McKinsey decides to return to live in Otero or Lincoln counties, the court will reconsider the conditions of McKinsey's release and bond, and place him on an ankle monitor.

Tularosa police chief Ken Selman said he received information on Jan. 13 that a Tularosa school teacher and coach had committed sexual penetration on a 15-year-old high school student.

Selman said detective Benny House reached out to the Alamogordo Department of Public Safety for assistance with the interview of the girl.

He said an ADPS detective interviewed the girl, which resulted in enough information for House to obtain a search warrant for McKinsey's classroom.

Selman said McKinsey failed to show up for work Thursday after he obtained an arrest warrant for the 39-year-old teacher and coach.

He said he notified New Mexico State Police, which resulted in officers arresting McKinsey at his home Thursday.

According to Magistrate Court records, McKinsey is alleged to have had sex with the girl in his classroom several times between November 2009 and January 2010.

According to court records obtained by the Daily News, McKinsey allegedly had his first sexual encounter with the girl on Nov. 28, 2009, in McKinsey's middle school classroom after Tularosa's state championship football game.

McKinsey is scheduled to appear in Magistrate Court for a preliminary hearing at 8 a.m. March 24.